Feasibility of CEST Imaging on the Guinea
Pig Stifle at 9.4 T

Matthew Fenty1, Victor Babu Kassey1,
Feliks Kogan1, Ravinder Reddy1

1CMROI, Radiology, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA,
United States

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common and painful condition with
a multi-factorial etiology of the musculoskeletal system affecting more than
50% of the U.S. population over 65.Degeneration of the articular cartilage tissue is a slow process and
typically takes decades to develop. Dunkin-Hartley guinea pigs have been
shown to develop OA with the earliest stage of detection manifesting as early
as three to four months of age.Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) has become a popular
method for measurement of metabolites with exchangeable protons. GAG contains
amino groups and hydroxyl groups that exchange protons with bulk water that
can be that exploited for CEST. Here we will show preliminary results of
implementation and optimization of CEST imaging using GAG-dependent contrast
on healthy guinea pig cartilage samples on a 9.4 T Varian scanner.